Jehovah’s Witnesses have announced a major adjustment to their longstanding position on blood transfusions, allowing individual members to decide for themselves whether to accept or donate four major components of blood.
The change was announced by the organisation’s Governing Body on Friday, September 18, 2026, from its World Headquarters in Warwick, New York.
Under the new position, Jehovah’s Witnesses can personally decide whether to accept red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma or platelets from another person’s blood.
They can also decide whether to donate blood specifically for the purpose of producing components or fractions for use in another person’s medical treatment.
The organisation said such decisions are now considered matters of personal conscience.
According to the Governing Body, the change is based on its interpretation that the Bible does not specifically address individual decisions involving the four main blood components.
However, the adjustment does not extend to whole-blood transfusions.
Jehovah’s Witnesses said their longstanding religious position against receiving whole blood remains unchanged, based on their interpretation of the biblical command to “abstain from blood.”
“Blood remains sacred to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God,” Paul Gillies, an international spokesman for the organisation, said.
He added that medical decisions involving blood components are now a matter of conscience between each individual Witness and their God.
The organisation also said congregations would not interfere in such personal medical decisions and would respect the choices made by individual members.
What has changed?
Previously, Jehovah’s Witnesses maintained a distinction between smaller blood fractions, whose use could be left to individual conscience, and the four primary components of blood: red cells, white cells, plasma and platelets.
The latest decision extends that individual choice to the four primary components themselves.
This means a Witness facing medical treatment can now personally decide whether to accept one or more of these components, depending on their conscience and circumstances.
The position on whole blood, however, remains the same.
The organisation said the latest adjustment follows an earlier change announced in March 2026 concerning the use of a person’s own blood during medical and surgical procedures.
In that earlier update, the Governing Body said each Christian could make their own decision about the collection, storage and use of their own blood in medical care.
Jehovah’s Witnesses also stressed that they do not reject medical treatment generally and said their members seek medical care while making decisions that are consistent with their religious beliefs and personal conscience.
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The organisation currently has more than nine million members across more than 200 countries and territories, meaning the new position could affect medical decisions involving Witnesses in different parts of the world.
For members, the latest announcement therefore represents a shift in who makes the decision over the four main blood components: rather than a blanket religious prohibition, the choice now rests with the individual.
The prohibition on whole-blood transfusions, however, remains in place.
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